Jumping in to writing

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by jhempel24

I am on vacation at the moment, since saturday but still trying to keep writing. I am at approx 20,200 words in my story so far

Thanks for checking up!!

What? Stephen King never takes a vacation!!!

[jhempel24]

he also has the ability to think words onto paper lol

[kennyc]

And here I am slaving away editing, typing, inputting... sheesh!

[jhempel24]

okay. story is getting out of hand. I think Im even getting confused about where things are going. So do I go back and edit now, or stick to Hemingways "first drafts are always shit" and finish it first and deal with it later

[Skibble]

Do you use notes to keep track of characters and story details? I had to start doing that with my longer pieces, because otherwise I felt like I was getting lost in my own story. In addition to helping me feel more secure and in control, the notes have saved me a lot of time, too. I don't have to search back through what I've already written to rediscover how old I made someone, or on what street an event took place, or who gave what important piece of information to whom. The devil is in the details!

In your shoes, I would be tempted to go back and do an edit to get things to a point where I was comfortable with it, and then proceed. But everyone is different; I'm sure many would recommend just plowing ahead and seeing what happens.

[gmw]

I'm always going back. And, as Skibble suggests, I also keep notes (a fairly detailed time-line in particular). But going back, sometimes just a little way, sometimes a long way, I find helps to get me back into a consistent frame of mind (consistent with where I was when I was writing before). I don't consider this going back to be editing, although some changes do get made as part of that process, they are changes related to how it flows (and "feels", without trying to sound too mystic about it) rather than looking to correct technical issues. I reserve the technical sort of stuff for after I'm finished the first draft.

Whether this going back over would help you depends on what sort of writer you are (or will turn out to be), and just how lost you've become. You may even find you're really an outline person, and so now might be the time to write an outline of what you've got so far and see if that helps you.

[jhempel24]

Notes are going to be coming.....I took a break from this story for a few days, writing a short story that I've got in my mind based off of inspiration I gained when running on vacation. beautiful sunsets and countrysides, dirt roads, unfamiliar territory, you know where this is going lol.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by jhempel24

Notes are going to be coming.....I took a break from this story for a few days, writing a short story that I've got in my mind based off of inspiration I gained when running on vacation. beautiful sunsets and countrysides, dirt roads, unfamiliar territory, you know where this is going lol.

You're writing a romance????

[jhempel24]

I guess it could be considered that.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by jhempel24

I guess it could be considered that.

I was joking, but .... okay... works for me.

I spent a year or so as a member of the local "Romance Writiers of America" and gave it a shot. It didn't work out but that's okay.

[jhempel24]

Lol. Me to. It just depends on what you find romantic lol

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by jhempel24

Lol. Me to. It just depends on what you find romantic lol

All fiction was once called "Romance" if I'm not mistaken....very early on.

[James_Wilde]

Originally Posted by kennyc

All fiction was once called "Romance" if I'm not mistaken....very early on.

I wonder if that explains the etymology of the Swedish word for a novel: it's called a roman, with emphasis on the second syllable, as in romance, rather than on the first as in roman soldier.

Any thoughts, Kumabjörn?

[crich70]

Originally Posted by jhempel24

Notes are going to be coming.....I took a break from this story for a few days, writing a short story that I've got in my mind based off of inspiration I gained when running on vacation. beautiful sunsets and countrysides, dirt roads, unfamiliar territory, you know where this is going lol.

What writing software do you use Jhempel24? Scrivener is good for allowing you to keep notes as you write and it comes in both Win and Mac flavors now as well as being fairly inexpensive compared to some writing software out there.

[kennyc]

Color coded index cards are really inexpensive.